Murders | Two Shallow Graves- The Mcstay Family

Two Shallow Graves: The Unsettling Final Chapter of the McStay Family

Chase was Joseph McStay’s business partner and, most heartbreakingly, the godfather to one of the murdered boys. He was the one who had "discovered" the family missing. He was the one who talked to the media, wiping away tears. Two Shallow Graves- The McStay Family Murders

But forensic accountants noticed a pattern. Immediately after the family vanished, someone began writing checks from Joseph’s business account. Thousands of dollars. The signature? A forgery. The culprit? Chase Merritt. Two Shallow Graves: The Unsettling Final Chapter of

Meanwhile, the bodies of Joseph and Summer McStay were lying in two shallow graves, just 100 yards apart, buried in the dirt behind a dumpster in the desolate Victorville desert. Their toddlers were buried beside them. When the bodies were finally discovered in 2013, the case pivoted 180 degrees. The "runaway" theory was dead. This was a massacre. But forensic accountants noticed a pattern

Four lives vanished overnight. For nearly four years, the world believed they ran away. The truth was hiding just 2.5 miles from home.

Why two shallow graves? Investigators noted that Summer was buried in one, the boys in another. But Joseph was buried alone, further away, in a third, slightly deeper grave.